PRC-148 Radio, First Impressions and Initial Setup, and Follow on Setup on Chest Rig

[RobertTheTexan]

1) How I missed this excellent thread is beyond me.

Thanks Brother-man. It was a lot of work. I kind of thought it was maybe too much information and too much detail. But if it helps someone then it's well worth the effort!

Thanks for helping out... I was hoping you'd catch the thread and you did.


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[Outlander Systems]

Roger that.

Seriously, great, great thread.

One thing I haven't seen discussed, and one of the big pluses to the 148 is the ability for the radio to take disposables/CR-123As.

If one were to get on eBay, and search for, "Thales Battery," one could find milsurp CR-123A adapter packs for about $5-$7 shipped...

ETA: Robert, I just saw the Gerber Strongarm in your loadout. I recently picked one up, and I'm absolutely in love with that thing.

Thanks Brother-man. It was a lot of work. I kind of thought it was maybe too much information and too much detail. But if it helps someone then it's well worth the effort!

Thanks for helping out... I was hoping you'd catch the thread and you did.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Outlander Systems]

Turnkey11,

It may not seem obvious, but once the PTT is pushed down, you'll want to rotate/twist the tits into the grooves on the 6-pin connector on the radio to lock it on.

[Turnkey11]

I used these on AD back in 06-07, this ptt will not rotate onto the radio connection. I tried dielectric grease on both mating surfaces when I got home from work today, still no rotation. Need to find someone in driving distance with another ptt to see if it's my ptt or the radio. Still not brave enough to chuck it in my vise and put pliers on it.

[Outlander Systems]

Roger that.

Yeah man, I'd steer clear of the pliers. I know these radios can be treated as poorly as a Glock and keep going, but that might be a bit extreme.

I'm going with that PTT as the culprit. I've used the radio with a Racal Headset, Peltor Comtac IIIs, a Thales hand mic, and a U94. All surplus, and all functioned properly.

I think I still have the Racal headset laying around. If you're willing to pay for shipping, I think I can squeeze it into a Medium Flat rate box.

I used these on AD back in 06-07, this ptt will not rotate onto the radio connection. I tried dielectric grease on both mating surfaces when I got home from work today, still no rotation. Need to find someone in driving distance with another ptt to see if it's my ptt or the radio. Still not brave enough to chuck it in my vise and put pliers on it.

[pinzgauer]

I used these on AD back in 06-07, this ptt will not rotate onto the radio connection. I tried dielectric grease on both mating surfaces when I got home from work today, still no rotation. Need to find someone in driving distance with another ptt to see if it's my ptt or the radio. Still not brave enough to chuck it in my vise and put pliers on it.

Something I've had to do with military radios and Vic 1 intercom is that if I get a tough U-229, I carefully pry out the O-ring and try it without the O ring.

They usually go on with no problem. That confirms it's not a machining issue.

At that point you can either put the O ring back in after lubricating it well and a lot of times that's enough, or use a new o-ring if it appears the old one is super hard.

For certain items that I take on and off quite a bit I don't even use the O-ring.

If you use a very small flat blade screwdriver that is not see serrated you can pry them out without damage.

I'm intrigued by the radios, but it looks like the PRC 148 copies have become much more expensive. Yet the PRC 152 is still pretty reasonable. Is there a better place to buy these online?

I'm intrigued by them, but refused to pay more than a vx-7r runs just due to the Yaesu also including six meters and 220.

[Outlander Systems]

Solid advice.

Regarding the radios, vs. the VX-7R, the biggest draw, from my perspective, is inter-connectivity with existing .mil kit. Beyond that, the battery is absolutely gargantuan at 5800 mAH, if you want to burn the sky, it's capable of 10W, Crossband-Repeat, and you could easily use one as a jack-stand for a truck in a pinch. They also monitor air-band, which is a plus in their favor.

FWIW, I consolidated a lot of my equipment, and I'm now in COMSPEC, monoband hell. It works for my uses, but I miss bullshitting with a couple of decent hams on some of the local repeaters.

Something I've had to do with military radios and Vic 1 intercom is that if I get a tough U-229, I carefully pry out the O-ring and try it without the O ring.

They usually go on with no problem. That confirms it's not a machining issue.

At that point you can either put the O ring back in after lubricating it well and a lot of times that's enough, or use a new o-ring if it appears the old one is super hard.

For certain items that I take on and off quite a bit I don't even use the O-ring.

If you use a very small flat blade screwdriver that is not see serrated you can pry them out without damage.

I'm intrigued by the radios, but it looks like the PRC 148 copies have become much more expensive. Yet the PRC 152 is still pretty reasonable. Is there a better place to buy these online?

I'm intrigued by them, but refused to pay more than a vx-7r runs just due to the Yaesu also including six meters and 220.

[Turnkey11]

I looked at the 152''s as well, but all the reviews led me to believe they were built poorly compared to the 148s. I got the 148 for the water and dust resistance, and the compatability with millions 6-pin connectors. So far I have the water and dust part down, I'll try without the oring in a bit.

Edit* Without oring, still cannot rotate to lock it. I'll try another cable, gotta ask around work if someone has a 6 pin laying around.